Wetlands...they were icky, muddy, and wet. Keenan wouldn't have minded the wet part if there was some eye candy around, but there was not. Just tall grass and mud. Today was overcast instead of raining, so at least he could move about a bit. Whiscash wasn't having any issues, and neither did his Ariados. His spider stuck with him while his catfish bounced a bit further ahead. The blonde teenager wore a white tank top, blue over shirt, a straw hat, blue jeans, and sneakers. He almost lost his sneakers six times now. He really needed to get to know this area a bit more...or get a map.

He wondered if his brother knew more about this part of Hoenn. He did not like it, and had splatters of mud all over his clothes. Perhaps he should have planned earlier...Splashfest was coming up, and the list of events had him excited. Keenan didn't want to miss it. His fish yelled when it nearly got ran over by something with a red ponytail? Nope, that was a Pyroar! Female, he thought. "Woah! Whiscash, you all right?!" He yelled, and tried to trot over to them. Only to trip in some sticky mud and land face first into it. Ariados was not a supportive spider, snickering. But still went over to check on its friend...

Shalin Nariya

"Watch out, Kiara!" Shalin cried, pulling on the freshly-evolved lion's reins hard to get her to slow down. She stopped just short of the Whiscash, playfully kicking and bucking a few times with her trainer aboard before calming down. She sounded a loud whoop after the most forceful thrust. "Yee-ha! That was fun!" the green-ette cried once the feline calmed down.

She turned her attention to Keenan. "Sorry about that! Kiara here is freshly evolved, so she's still learning to control her new power." She gently gave Kiara scritches behind the ear, which the Pyroar returned with a content purr that briefly rattled her. "Shalin, wildest Pokémon rider this side of Hoenn! And what might your name be?"

"I'm actually a freelance expeditionary, and I'm headed to this place called the Seviper's Remains," she explained after introducing herself. She pointed to a landmark to the northwest, across quite a lot of wetlands. "Supposedly, it's a cave that was formed from a fossilized Dynamaxed, or even Gigantamaxed, Seviper. It's one of Hoenn's natural wonders, and I want to check it out! It's a shame you have to travel so far to get to it."

---

Keenan Toral

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Flit          Yanmega        Good
Kiara         Pyroar-F       Good
Treble        Hakamo-o       Good
Prance        Wyrdeer        Good
Queen Zing    Beedrill       Good
Levy          Milotic        Good

{WC: 194}
{PC: 2}

Kee's Whiscash flopped over, and gave him a little bit of water to wash off the mud on his face and arms. And clothes. So now instead of being soaked in sweat, he was soaked in water. But at least he didn't mud caked on him. The Pyroar riding gal sure was hyper, and explained why she was there and everything. The location itself did sound cool though! "Keenan Toral. I'm just a trainer trying to get back to Fortree City. I'm...bad at directions. Although that cave system does sound cool...mind if I tag along?"

He returned both his Ariados and Whiscash, and sent out Tyrantrum. "Hey, big girl, wanna give me ride? Since I can't move for crap in these wetlands?" The big fossil roared excitedly, and gently picked him up and tossed him onto her back. And boom, he was ready to go! "Of course, if you could help me get back to town afterwards, that would be much appreciated. Anyways, you lead, we follow?" His big dinosaur was ready to move, almost doing that wierd anxious hop thing that even humans do when they were excited or really needed to get going.

Shalin Nariya

Kee's thoughts weren't wrong: Shalin was quite chipper. Unlike most people, this was normal behavior for her. She had the energy of a child, especially when it came to ride Pokémon and confronting the remote corners of nature. "Absolutely! I can get you back to Fortree afterward! Having another set of eyes in there will be really helpful! Great to have you along, Keenan!" She was about to bring out two of her Pokémon when the young man sent out a Tyrantrum. It was a dragon Pokémon that was easily big enough to run through the stagnant, muddy water. "I was going to ask if you wanted to fly over the swamp instead, but I like your taste in Pokémon!"

With that, Shalin withdrew her Pyroar, letting gravity take her to her feet. She sent out Queen Zing, her riding-tacked Beedrill, who waved her foreleg sting toward Kee much like a human would their arm in greeting. "She's Queen Zing, one of my favorite Pokémon. Since Pyroar aren't great in water, I'll need her help to get there!" She pulled out a pair of earplugs and donned them. "Once I get flying, I won't be able to hear a word you say until we get there." With that, she sat between the yellow insect's enormous wings, held the reins, and gave the signal to take off. A strong tingling feeling coursed through her body as the enormous bee took to the air, hovering not far above the swamp water. The loud drone her wings made scared smaller wild Pokémon away, not used to such a noisy predator in their habitat.

---

Keenan Toral

{WC: 276}
{PC: 2}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Shalin        Human          ♥♥♥♥
Flit          Yanmega        Good
Kiara         Pyroar-F       Good
Treble        Hakamo-o       Good
Prance        Wyrdeer        Good
Queen Zing    Beedrill       Good
Levy          Milotic        Good

She agreed. And seemed like she was about to take out a couple of Pokemon before he got out his big girl. "Oh, yeah, Tyrantrum is awesome! Since she's evolved, I'm more eager than ever to bring her into a gym battle." And he didn't bring a flyer at all. Even if she did have one for him, Tyrantrum was large enough in his mind that the extra height wouldn't matter. Shalin took out some earplugs, ready to go on her ginormous Beedrill. Thing was twice the size of his! Keenan waved back at Queen Zing and so did Tyrantrum. Though his big girl kind of huffed a bit. Some Queen.

Both rider and Pokemon started to go, hovering just above the ground. Shalin wasn't kidding about the drum of her Beedrill's wings. Yikes! Tyrantrum was quieter...but not by a lot. The water would ripple with every step, similar to a certain classic movie. Even with all the Pokemon running, both prey and predators, they still had to be careful. More than once did Keenan had to direct Ty to a different route because of a nest or something similar. That was the problem with large Pokemon, they tended to disturb the environment a bit much.

Shalin Nariya

As the Tyrantrum tromped forward, Queen Zing flew at an angle above the rock-type, making sure to keep her rear sting comfortably far from Kee and out of the strong wake of moving air the vibrating wings produced. For normal-sized bug Pokémon, it wasn't a big deal, but the ones Queen Zing flew on were enormous. The rider tilting her head to the side, she was mesmerized watching them go. If it weren't for the threat of being torn to shreds from how fast they churned, they were big enough for her to sit on one, if she wanted. Maybe one day, when she had a SYGNA SUIT, she would.

A strong tingling sensation drowned out her other senses, her Beedrill's wings roaring for a split second to dodge a Quagsire trying to sink her with a ball of MUD SHOT. She could feel her thighs thumping as the insect bobbed toward the marshland's northwest corner, where the snake-shaped cave was located. Landing on an islet surrounded by reeds, Shalin sat between her Beedrill's now-still wings, waiting for feeling to return in them.

The mouth of the cave was in rather unsettling spot; the entrance Shalin had spotted, and the only one with enough solid ground to stand on near where they landed, was through the fossilized snake's left eye socket. "We're here," she sighed once Kee had pulled up behind her, the girl dismounting after a minute or two of sitting astride the now-motionless Beedrill. Had she hopped off with her legs feeling like jelly, she could have tumbled into the swamp!

Once she felt comfortable on foot, she took a peek inside, and it was dark. Quite dark. She had a fire-type with her, thankfully, but it wasn't a great one for seeing in such low light conditions. Could work in a pinch, though! She withdrew the Beedrill, switching mounts to a female Pyroar before stepping foot inside.

The cave appeared to split in two: a left fork that wound around a corner, and another short tunnel straight ahead. At the entrance of the tunnel were two large box torches, their flames long since extinguished.

---

Keenan Toral

{WC: 358}
{PC: 3}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Shalin        Human          ♥♥♥♥
Flit          Yanmega        Good
Kiara         Pyroar-F       Good
Treble        Hakamo-o       Good
Prance        Wyrdeer        Good
Queen Zing    Beedrill       Good
Levy          Milotic        Good

That Beedrill's wings were loud! Even as a Quagsire tried to shoot her down, and got kicked by his Tyrantrum, off they went at a comfortable speed and distance. They did find it...or maybe it was the entrance to it? An eyesocket of some kind...gross. Shalin hopped off while Kee slid down Tyrantrum's tail. Cuz she was awesome that way. The blonde followed the woman, returning his big dinosaur into her pokeball. It wouldn't be good if she rushed in and started to destroy things. He took out Growlithe, while Shalin took out her Pyroar again. "Growlithe has Flash Fire. I saw that when hit by a fire type move, she glows..." And is very much unharmed. The puppy barked in confirmation.

They soon found a crossroads, one of which had box torches in front of it. Huh. "Looks like we're not the first ones here. Road not taken or the safer route?" Walking over, he grabbed both torches and held them out as far away from him as possible. Growlithe used Flame Burst to light both of them at once. And didn't even hurt her trainer! Such a good girl! Keenan handed one of them over to Shalin, ready to follow her. It...probably wouldn't be a good idea to split up at all. Especially with his terrible sense of direction...


Shalin Nariya

Shalin smiled as she watched Kee slide down the dinosaur's tail. "I like your style," she idly remarked once the two were inside, investigating the dark chamber with the light of their fire Pokémon. Even the inside looked like the fossilized gut of a snake. It was... disturbing, to say the least.

The weight of the box torches had to be awkward for Kee, given their size! She was genuinely impressed at the young man's massive strength. "I... I don't think those were meant to be moved," Shalin cracked a laugh. They were called box torches for a reason; their size were meant to be stationary and shed lots of light for a large chamber! After both were lit, the sound of grinding stone echoed from the north side, a thin section of the cave wall to the north falling into the floor.

[player]http://noproblo.dayjo.org/ZeldaSounds/Oracle/Oracle_Secret.wav[/player]

"The medallion has to be in here," she remarked. "If this place is this supernatural already..." As Shalin and Kiara advanced, they found that the cavern, true to its name, was home to a large population of Seviper, none of which looked too happy to see her! Several of the bladed snakes slithered toward the adventurer, raising their tail blades in an effort to attack! If Kee followed, he would find himself under attack, too! There was a tunnel to the right he could hide in and explore, if he so desired.

---

Keenan Toral

{WC: 236}
{PC: 3}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Shalin        Human          ♥♥♥♥
Flit          Yanmega        Good
Kiara         Pyroar-F       Good
Treble        Hakamo-o       Good
Prance        Wyrdeer        Good
Queen Zing    Beedrill       Good
Levy          Milotic        Good

The box torches...were not as they seemed. They were much heavier than he thought, and there was no way he could take them with him. Oh well. The path in front of them had a door that needed a key of some sort. There was a wall that looked...off. But nothing more. Kind of? He could feel an air current there. Even so, his lighting both fires did open up a pathway. Shalin went first, saying something about a medallion. "What medallion?" Was he missing something? Sadly, he didn't get an answer. But only because they ran into a bit of a snag. Seviper. And a ton of them too! Kee looked around and found a tunnel to his right.

"Shalin, this way! Growlithe, cover her with Flame Burst!" Growlithe jumped between his trainer and the snake pokemon and started firing fire balls. Upon contact with anything, they exploded in a decent area of effect, but the fire dog was careful with it too. Both trying not to hit Shalin, but also not causing that much damage as well. It was a delicate balance. The blonde ran down the tunnel as it got narrower so only one person can go through at a time. Keenan was a fast runner, probably the only other thing he was good at besides singing and dancing and doing both of those at once. The narrow space did provide one advantage though. One to two Seviper at a time. Once every so often, Growlithe would turn and use a Flame Burst to slow them down.

He eventually made it out of the tunnel and into another chamber. But also did a faceplant first since the chamber's floor was about three feet lower than the ground. Face and torso on the ground and his lower torso bent back with his legs over his head. Feet almost touching his head because he was that flexible. Arceus he hoped none of the Seviper decided to chase them this far...and hoped Shalin followed him...

Shalin Nariya

Kee's Growlithe, with repeated FLAME BURSTS, was able to repel the first wave of Seviper, though a second replaced them almost immediately. With a loud hiss, one made a move between Kee's legs and went for Shalin, while the other charged the Growlithe. Both of them swerved sharply, slashing their POISON TAILS toward their targets. Lioness and rider both yelped as venom dripped from the cuts the snakes' blades made. Both Pokémon and rider squinted as Kiara pinned the attacking poison-type down with one paw, then swiped a second across the back of its head. The big cat's power was sufficient to bleed the Seviper of consciousness.

Provided Kee's Pokémon could handle the last one, Shalin would follow him into a more open area.

Shalin took note of a series of stalagmites, toward the center of the cavern, arranged in a curious formation: the shape of an arrow pointing toward the west wall. Guiding Kiara around the formation to examine it, Shalin felt her fine, green hair being blown around. "There's something on the other side of this wall. Unless you have a better idea, I have a Hakamo-o that I can use to try to break it open."

---

Keenan Toral

{WC: 201}
{PC: 3}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Shalin        Human          ♥♥♥♥
Flit          Yanmega        Good
Kiara         Pyroar-F       Good
Treble        Hakamo-o       Good
Prance        Wyrdeer        Good
Queen Zing    Beedrill       Good
Levy          Milotic        Good

While Shalin's Pyroar dealt with her opponent, Keenan released Ariados and Whiscash. While Growlithe did jump back, he did lose some fir. That was a little too close. Whiscash used Spark, electricity surging around around it, then tackling the Seviper attacking Growlith. Then it was Araidos's turn. "Ariados, block the way, Electroweb, Sticky Web, and Spider Web! All the webs!" There was Toxc Thread there, but the Seviper would all be immune to it. Still, the spider Pokemon started off with Electroweb, forming a literal web of electricity to block the way. Sure, they could cut it down, but that would cause them to get a very nasty jolt. And with webs everywhere, even on the ground and all over, their progress would be slow.

Hopefully Kee and Shalin can put on some distance then. And they found an arrow on the way back. "Yeah, we better. All of those webs are just going to slow them down. At least they seemed pretty determined to get to us. So the more distance, the better." Even with Ariados putting up another Electroweb and more webs in general at the entrance behind them. And hopefully they won't be too smart...


Shalin Nariya

The cage of web bought the duo enough time to get mostly out of sight. Out of sight wouldn't help them completely avoid the Seviper, though; being snakes, they were sensitive to vibration and could feel where Kee and Shalin were at. With the wilds kept at bay, the rider kurled a Poké Ball at the weak wall, her Hakamo-o emerging. "Treble, can you shatter this open, please?"

With a nod, the fighting-type thrust his fists into the wall. "You might want to cover your ears, Kee." She followed her own advice before giving the signal to begin. The grating sound of his vibrating fists rumbled throughout the immediate area and even to areas beyond, making wild Pokémon in nearby areas aware of their presence. It got so intense that even Shalin, and possibly Kee as well, could feel the air disturbance. The wall gave way, a piece of stone making a loud impact on the other side of the sealed offshoot. Even after the entrance had been blasted open, the hum of his fists alone was clearly audible. When Treble evolved, the noise would be even more intense than that.

[player]http://noproblo.dayjo.org/ZeldaSounds/Oracle/Oracle_Secret.wav[/player]

Inside was a chest with its lid and hinges broken, a sizable hoard of translucent green, blue, and red gems inside, with a silver SMALL KEY on top. While the key would be immediately useful, the rest of it looked like it would sell for a small fortune. "Whoa, it looks like someone was storing treasure here a long time ago! It's so deep!" Shalin huffed, still recovering from the vibration as she sifted through the chest's contents. "If we can find a buyer for all of this, we'll be set for a long time!" She made sure to hang the key on the corner of the chest so it would not get lost while they were sifting through their spoils.

You obtained a SMALL KEY! This key will open any one lock. You can use it only in this dungeon.

---

Keenan Toral

Keys: 1

{WC: 341}
{PC: 4}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Shalin        Human          ♥♥♥♥
Flit          Yanmega        Good
Kiara         Pyroar-F       Good
Treble        Hakamo-o       Good
Prance        Wyrdeer        Good
Queen Zing    Beedrill       Good
Levy          Milotic        Good

Keenan covered his ears, as did his Pokemon. The pseudo legendary's fists vibrated and smashed the wall into pebbles with ease. That was quite an intense attack, as Kee was able to feel the disturbance on his face and bare skin. Well, even his clothes vibrated some from it. Inside was a chest full of gems and a key. Eyes shining because of shiny stones, he stumbled forward towards the chest. Shalin took the key, but Keenan took a few of the gems. They didn't feel like they were plastic or fake, but they definitely needed to go to a jeweler or something to get them valued. "Shoot, even a handful or two would be enough! Sadly...I don't think we can take the whole chest. It'll just slow us down a lot, and we may end up as skeletons because of those Seviper. I'm just going to take a handful or two..."

It wouldn't be good if they got slowed down by the chest and those Seviper caught up because of it. He took three handfuls and stuffed them in his backpack. Then he eyed the key. "There was that door back there. We might use it there and move on in a hurry. That door looked like it was the only way forward..." At least, he didn't see any other passageways or anything. If they rushed, they might be able to get there and through before the Seviper were even close. He may even use Ariados's various web attacks to slow them down some more, or make it look like they might have went another way.

Taking the key, they went back to the previous chamber, and used it on the door. It fit perfectly, and with some loud thumps and klinking, opened with a hard push...

Shalin Nariya